Emergency Porta Potty Rental in Philadelphia

Call during our hours, weekdays 7 to 6, and say it's an emergency. Tell us the address, how many people are in the building, whether it's men and women or one shared restroom, and where the units can go. We'll tell you on the call what we can deliver and how soon, and the written quote follows by email so the paperwork never slows the truck.

Outside those hours, send the quote form with "emergency" in the notes and the details of the outage. It's the first thing we answer when the phones open.

When the repair is done, call and the units come back out. Restrooms rent by the 28-day period, but an emergency that ends in three days is picked up in three days.

The right setup depends on the building and who's in it. A small office or a single family needs a unit or two and a hand wash station. An apartment building needs more units and more frequent service, since the units are serving people around the clock. A business with customers, a church or a school often wants a restroom trailer, which looks and works like the restrooms inside. Anyone in a wheelchair or with limited mobility needs an ADA-accessible unit on level ground near the door.

Plan for the outage lasting longer than the first estimate. A water main repair or a sewer line replacement can stretch from a day to a week once the street is open, and it's easier to keep the units an extra few days than to bring them back.

A flood or a burst pipe leaves wet drywall, carpet, padding, insulation and ruined contents that have to come out fast before mold sets in. A 20 yard dumpster at the curb or in the lot takes it, on the same quote as the restrooms, and a swap is one call away if the cleanup fills it.

What survived has to go somewhere dry while the floors and walls are rebuilt. A 20 foot storage container in the driveway or the lot keeps furniture, files and equipment locked and dry on site until the space is ready again.

In an emergency there's no time for a site visit, so tell us on the call where the units can go: the parking lot, the courtyard, the side yard or the sidewalk. A unit on the sidewalk or the street is in the city's right-of-way, so keep it clear of the curb ramp and the walkway, and if the water department's crew is working the block, keep it away from their dig.

Units need firm, level ground and a path from the building that people can use in the dark. If it's winter, the units go somewhere out of the wind, and hand wash stations need a plan for the cold since their water can freeze.

Philadelphia's coldest stretches bring the most emergency calls. A pipe in an outside wall, a vacant unit with the heat turned down or a sprinkler line in an unheated stairwell freezes, splits and floods the floors below when it thaws. The building's water goes off while the plumber works, and the restrooms go with it.

In winter, the units go where they're sheltered from the wind, ideally against the building or inside a parking garage entrance, and hand washing is planned around the cold, since a free-standing station's water can freeze overnight. An in-unit sink, a restroom trailer with its own heat or hand washing set up inside the building's lobby are the usual answers. Tell us the forecast on the call and we'll plan for it.

The fastest emergency calls are the ones where we can quote and schedule in one conversation. Have these ready and the truck is on the schedule before you hang up.